


A Kind Touch

by RogueDruid (Icarius51)



Category: Highschool DxD (Anime), 나 혼자만 레벨업 | Solo Leveling (Webcomic)
Genre: (Minor Solo Leveling Crossover), All Magic Comes With a Price, And So Much More, Angels, Arts Student VS School President, Attempted Seduction, Bisexuality, Chess Metaphors, Demons, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Fallen Angels, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Harems, Highschool Politics, M/M, Magical Realism, Mind Games, Minor Character Death, Multi, Necromancy, Polyamorous Character, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, School Uniforms, Slow Burn, Sona Sitri's Harem, Temporary Character Death, Tsunderes, art student, but romantic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 07:28:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25346974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Icarius51/pseuds/RogueDruid
Summary: Sona Sitri is dealing with a new year of school, and all the complications that come with it. From organizing the student representatives for the various clubs to dealing with the ongoing antics of the Perverted Trio, her schedule is packed. And that's not considering her other responsibilities as one of the two mystical rulers of Kuoh.But when dead animals keep getting found with a seemingly unknown magical signature, the mystery demands her attention.Meanwhile, the newest president of the Kuoh Art Club is showing himself as a rival, both in intellect and drive, as he pushes for the school to place greater importance on the Arts.These two mysteries are intertwined, Sona learns that kindness can be as dangerous a weapon as any rules or discipline.
Relationships: Hanakai Momo/Kusaka Reya/Meguri Tomoe/Nimura Ruruko/Shinra Tsubaki/Sona Sitri/Yura Tsubasa, Original Character(s)/harem, Sona Sitri/Original Character(s), Sona Sitri/harem
Comments: 12
Kudos: 73





	1. Missing pets

The late evening sky was dark, the gleam of the city lights as they flickered on replacing the dying glow of the sun.

“Hmm.”

Dark hair shifted and pale blue eyes peered out from under the loose bowl cut.

“Another one? So soon?”

He paused, glancing at the park across the street, eyes focused on something that wasn’t easily seen.

Shifting his backpack up higher, he glanced both ways before crossing the street.

Soon he was pacing along the dark treeline of the park, eyes focused on the faintest gleam in the dark.

Blood.

It was fresh, and he felt a pang of sadness.

It took only a few minutes of following the beaten up path before he found it, and crouched down.

Blood-stained and matted dark fur lay still.

His fingers traced over a beaten and worn leather collar, and in the fading halflight he could just make out the name.

 _‘Takahiro… ‘Nobility,’ huh?’_ flipping the tag over he found an address and a phone number, and he sighed.

He would call them in a few minutes. They would want the body back.

With the details squared away, he lifted his gaze from the dog’s collar, to the slowly shifting mass of shadows and mist that gleamed above the body.

“Guess you don’t wanna move on then, huh.” The words were spoken softly, but the dark energy shifted and flexed, spiraling in odd patterns even as he reached out. He felt the surge of energy up his hand, dancing along his bones and filtering through his veins before the carved spirals across the black ring he wore lit up with purple light.

“Please, **Rise.** ” With those words, the purple glow shifted and seemed to spark, before arcing from his fingertips into the cloud.

Like a storm, the lightning traced through it, connecting every part of the darkness like a spider's web made of glistening amethyst.

And when it was over, gleaming purple eyes stared out from shaggy fur that absorbed the light, and his fingers scratched at a ragged looking ear.

It wasn’t alive. But it was something close. A facsimile of life crafted from intent and the shadow of a soul. A soft huff along his sleeve, and the strange sensation of a tongue without true texture at his sleeve.

“Nice to meet you too, Takahiro, I’m Akiyasu.”

Gleaming purple met pale blue, and the dog gave a soft woof, the breath pushing against his sleeve. For a minute, he just scratched at the dogs ears, before sighing and stepping away from the smeared blood and the still fur of Takehiro’s corpse.

Meanwhile, the shade came and sniffed at his jacket, and then at his neck and lap when he sat down and pulled out his smartphone. With a thought, he pushed the dog to settle, curled up in his lap as one hand slowly scratched at his ears.

He leaned against the tree at his back and typed in the phone number from the necklace, before lifting it up and closing his eyes.

It rang out. Once… Twice…

“Hello?”

A young girl's voice. Teenager at most. Damn, he was hoping for an older man or woman. Someone who would be less pained.

“Hi. I was wondering if this was the owner of a dog? Named Takahiro?”

He really did hate this part.

* * *

An hour later, he watched the sobbing girl sit in a car while the parents and the animal control wrapped up the body.

The last of the sun was gone, the pale sepia of the street lamps all that lit the streets, and cast the alley he was leaning in with deep shadows.

“Guess that’s that.” he glanced down at the dog at his side. “What about you, Takahiro. Wanna stay with me? Or did you want to head on out, considering you’ve been found and taken care of now?”

The dog gave a soft woof before tugging at his pant leg, drawing a breathless chuckle from the teens lips.

With a low whistle and the flicker of intent, the dog at his side seemed to vanish, sinking into the shadow cast by his legs,

He could feel it now. Nestled among the rest.

The shades of the dead.

They pressed on the edge of his thoughts, lingered in the back of his mind, slumbering until he called them.

Cats and dogs. A vast variety of birds. A few hamsters and rabbits found nearby, along with the odd squirrels and a single deer from the one time he headed up to visit the Nara Shrine in Kyoto.

He avoided it after that, unwilling to take another soul from the deer that were considered so sacred to the shrines and the people.

Not every death called to him, but violence… violence and painful last moments rang out.

As he turned the last corner towards his small apartment, he shrugged off his blazer and slung it over his arm, reaching up to run a hand through his hair as he pushed his thoughts away.

He did what he could for the animals that called to him. Offering them kindness where he could…

Thankfully, Kuoh is a quiet kind of town.

Hopefully he could keep his traits hidden here.

* * *

Sona Sitri glanced around once more, arms crossed.

“Another one?”

Tsubaki nodded, holding out the pictures. “We don’t know what happened, but the dog had a clearly magical signature on it. Our sensors only picked up the signature long after it was dead.”

“And the signature itself?”

“Like the other half dozen over the last few months. The same feeling of discomfort and cold, but there's nothing in the records we have about this. There’s also a lack of the usual holy energy signature that marks it as a Sacred Gear effect.”

Sona leaned back in her chair and focused on the chessboard in front of her toying with the pieces as she played out a recent game, looking back over how it went.

“We’ve ruled out any of the known abilities and skillsets of the biblical factions, the Yokai, and Sacred Gears… which means we either have a natural-born talent, or an outside competitor. Tsubaki, start setting up more sensors attuned for this signature. Next time we get a ping of it, let me know immediately. Rias is currently looking into a Sacred Gear in the school, but inform her of the situation regardless please.”

“Of course, Sona. It will be done.”

“Thank you, Tsubaki. Is there anything else?”

The taller girl nodded and flipped through the folder in her hands to a different page. “Ah, yes. The club presidents for this year have been chosen.”

“Any unforeseen changes?”

Tsubaki hummed as she reviewed her notes. “A few. The swim club is being run by Tohsaka once more, despite the issues from last year that made her drop out. I expect that Matou will be thankful to give the lead back.”

“She had a family emergency, and I don't blame her for her priorities. And the others?”

“Only one more. The Art Club has a new president I wasn't expecting, one Hirabayashi Akiyasu.”

“The Fine-Art Scholarship student, correct? The recent transfer from a general school?”

“Yes, second-year student, exceptional grades, and he’s already had several showcases at local art venues. Seems to favor impressionism and surrealism in his art.”

“Hmm… Perhaps he’ll finally help wrangle the rest of the artists into shape. They’ve been quite disorganized long before I became president.” She glanced down and made a note to request a meeting with the club presidents sometime soon. “Anything else?”

The vice president gave one last check of her folder, before snapping it shut. “No, that should be it for the night.”

With a low hum, Sona stood and stretched, feeling her spine give a slow pop as she worked the kinks out. “Wonderful. Let us head home.”

A wave of Sona’s hand and the crest of Sitri appeared. With a flicker of blue light, the two vanished from the office.


	2. White Canvas

Akiyasu stepped up to the canvas he had pulled from storage, making sure it was once more secured to his easel. It was tall, an awkwardly cut size of canvas that was narrow, but nearly as tall as he was.

He had been working on it the day before, laying down the first coat of white, a smooth coat that filled the grain and texture of the canvas and lay the basics for his plans. He had also done a slash of color, pale blue and white that mixed and flowed from one side of the canvas’ narrow frame to the next.

After letting that dry over the last day, he was ready for the next part. Tapping at his phone, he slid his earbuds in and gave a slow stretch.

As the first beats of techno, distorted and frantic, began to claw at his mind, he let himself fall into motion. Fast paced lyrics, something close to rap but not quite as lyrical so much as rhythmic, began to bleed through his thoughts as he took up his paints.

A painting knife carved a streak of black across the white, pulled from blobs of black that were set on the canvas, his long strokes giving them form.

Dark edges that gave an impression of weight, pawing and leaping around the slender stream of blue that flowed across the canvas, tracing a delicate path, and the black blobs became a pack of hounds, leaping through the underbrush on the hunt.

Trees were added with a brush, staggered and heavy strokes giving the impression of roughshod bark, and branches that hung loose and heavy slowly came into existence, draping from the top of the canvas to hang loose and heavy above the river.

Traces of green and the slender edge of his paint knife became tall grasses at the bank of the river, as well as tucked around the trunks of the draping trees. More white came to be mixed with faint streaks of other colors, and a thicker brush came to hand.

The white went on heavy, forming thicker patches where it was brushing up around the dogs and leaving thick snow drifts that pushed the formless white of the background into a wintery path, before a slender brush put down snow on the branches of the tree’s far above.

As he finished up his last touches and stepped back to let it dry, Akiyasu breathed out and pulled his earbud free, the frantic music no longer filling his attention and leaving him to take in the relative silence. 

The art room was fairly empty today, only two others were working on painting right now. Kiryuu Aika was sketching out some wildlife on a canvas with a thicker pen, working on doing mixed media with ink and watercolors. In the weeks since he had met her, she had shown off a remarkably detailed style, with a heavy focus on near photorealism in her sketches. Though, one of the times he had glanced over her shoulder had caught him off guard when she had been sketching  _ extremely _ detailed nude bodies.

Next to her, working in a sketchbook, was one of the younger members of the club, and the only other male. Nagumo Hajime was a solid artist, with a definite bend towards manga and fantasy as his art style. His parents were somewhat renown artists and game designers, so he had a lot of experience with their fields. 

There were two other members of the club, but he didn’t see them around today. Shrugging it off, he stared at his painting.

It was close… but something was missing. He gave it a few long moments of contemplation, before sighing. With practiced motions, he lifted up the unfinished painting and hung it on the drying rack in the back of the room. Staring at it wouldn’t help. He needed a few moments away from the brush. To stretch and move.

Washing off his hands in the studio’s sink, he pulled the smock he had been wearing off, hanging it near the sink. “I’m heading to grab some drinks. Either of you want something from the vending machine?”

“Get me a cold brew coffee?” Kiryuu blinked questionably at him.

Hajime held up two fingers, not looking up from where he was hunched over a sketch. “Two cold brew coffees.”

“Three coffees for two artists, got it.”   


With Kiryuu’s laugh following him out of the door, Akiyasu gave a yawn, looking out the window as he walked down towards the courtyard with the vending machines. The sun was low in the sky to the west, lighting up the clouds with vibrant oranges and yellows, casting the forested parts of Kuoh’s grounds in sharp contrast. In the distance, he could even make out the shape of the old school building among the trees.

For a moment he slowed his walk, just looking out over the world and taking in the colors.

A nudge against his leg and the faint sensation of one of his hounds against his skin broke him from his thoughts.   


“I’m going, I'm going.” With one last glance to lock the scene in his thoughts, he headed down the stairs towards the courtyard.

The low rumble in his thoughts put a name to the dog. Harlow, one of the first hounds he had taken into his soul.

As he reached the vending machine, he pulled out his wallet and got to ordering. Three cans of cold brew coffee and a can of Melon soda later, he glanced over the snacks.

_ ‘Pocky?’  _

The feeling of a bird nipping at his ear made his decision. A box of blueberry Pocky joined his collection. Pulling one out and letting it hang from his lips as he stashed the coffees in his pockets and turned to head back into the school, stepping up through the door-

Only to blink as he almost ran into a taller girl, who also seemed surprised at his sudden appearance.

“Ah, sorry,” she stepped back. “Didn’t expect anyone else to be here right now.”

A wave of his only free hand and he finished the Pocky. “No problem. Me and the Art Club are probably some of the last ones, and we’re heading out soon.” 

“Ah, you’re Hirabayashi-san, yes?” 

Slowing his walk he blinked at her, taking in the long black hair that fell to her knees, held behind her, and the glint of brown and purple mismatched eyes, trying to remember where he had seen her… Ah! 

“Yes, and you’re a member of the Student Council, right? I don’t think I ever got your name.”   
  


She smiled, and bowed slightly. “Shinra Tsubaki, Vice President of the Student Council.”

He gave a nod back, smiling, “Hirabayashi Akiyasu, a pleasure. I look forward to working with you and the rest of the council.”

“Of course.” She gave a professional and demure smile, and Aki responded in kind before moving past her.

As he headed up the stairs, he bit down on another stick of Pocky, humming to himself. He was still thinking about the colors of the sunset across the campus, and of the striking color of a pair of mismatched brown and purple eyes.

The color almost reminded him of wisteria…

At the thought, he rushed back to the art classroom. That was it! That was what his painting was missing!

* * *

He didn’t notice that as he walked away, Tsubaki glanced back, eyes gleaming and a puzzled expression on her face.

Tsubaki came from a long family of exorcists, before joining Sona’s peerage.

And something about Hirabayashi’s aura felt like the works of spirits, but… muddled. Whatever had once touched him, it was either distantly in the past, or very subtle with its work. She bit her lip before deciding to bring it up with Sona when she had a chance. She doubted it was anything dangerous - that kind of possession and spiritual influence would be far more obvious - but the teen may have a spirit attached to him. That kind of thing would leave marks…

She would have to keep an eye on him. 

Just in case.


End file.
